Contour marker



April 1, 1958 V s. c. ELY

CONTOUR MARKER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 1. 1953 5.61 ELY IN V EN TOR.

A TTORNEY S. C. ELY

CONTOUR MARKER April 1, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 1. 1953 S. C. EL Y INVENTOR Unite ates This invention relates to tools and more particularly to a layout tool.

An object of this invention is to provide a layout tool for laying out curves or angles on circular, fiat and angular surfaces.

Another object of the invention is to provide a new and improved layout tool for laying out a miter of any predetermined angle on pipes, conduits or other objects having curved surfaces.

Still another object of the device is to provide a layout tool having a leveling device for indicating the angular position of the tool on a surface on which a line is to be laid out.

A further object of the invention is to provide a layout tool having a center punch for marking reference settings on a work surface.

With the foregoing objects in view, the invention has further reference to certain features of accomplishment which will become apparent as the description proceeds, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the layout tool;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary top view of the forward end of the layout tool;

Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view showing the center punch;

Figure 4 is a side view of the layout tool with some parts of the tool broken away to disclose details of the various elements of the tool;

Figure 5 is a rear end elevation, and

Figure 6 is a fragmentary sectional view showing a modified form of center punch from that shown in Figure'3. r

Referring now to the drawing, the layout tool includes a pair of elongate oppositely facing channel shaped base members 10 and 11 which are rigidly secured to one another adjacent one end by a sleeve 12 having end flanges 13 and 14. The end flanges 13 and 14 are secured to the webs 15 and 16 of the base members 10 and 11, respectively, by rivets 17 or in any other suitable manner.

The base members are provided with punch holes 18 aligned with the central aperture of the sleeve 12 so that the punch 19 may extend through the holes 18 and the sleeve 12. The punch may be detachably secured to either of the base members by means of the cup-shaped spring housing 20 whose annular flange 21 is provided with slots 22 which are adapted to receive the pins 23 of the base members when the housing is rotated in one direction, the heads of the pins then securing the housing to the base member. Rotation of the housing in the opposite direction, of course, will disengage the housing from the pins and permit it to be detached from either base member to permit it to be attached to the other base member.

The center punch 19 has an annular disk 24 intermediate its ends and disposed in the housing 20. The spring 25 has opposite ends bearing against the web of the base member to which it is attached and the disk 24 to bias 2,823,545 Patented Apr. 1, 1958 ice the center punch 19 away from the web of the other base member. It will thus be seen that the pointed end of the center punch is normally kept from protruding below the adjacent base member but is free to move against the yielding resistance. of the spring 25. 'In Figure 6 is shown a modification wherein the center punch is removable from the sleeve 12 and is inserted therein only when needed.

A pin 26 connects the webs 15 and 16 adjacent the opposite ends and has its opposite ends peaned so that it may not be readily disconnected from the webs 15 and 16. It will be apparent, of course, that the peaned pin 26 could be replaced by a bolt provided with a nut if so desired.

The pin 26 extends through the hub 27 of a protractor 23 disposed between the webs 15 and 16 and is held against displacement from adjusted positions by a set screw 27a (Figures 1 and 2) which extend through the hub 27 against the pin 26. Expansion washers 28a aid in holding the protractor 28 in any position to which it is rotated about the pin 26.

The protractor has an arcuate section 29 provided on both sides with indicia marking off degrees. The convergent sections 30 and 31 extend from opposite ends of the arcuate section 29 to an end section 32. A link 33 has one end pivotally connected to the end section by a pin 34. The opposite end of this link has pivotally secured thereto a pair of intermediate links 35 and 36, by means of the pin 37. An end link 38 is pivotally secured to the opposite ends of the intermediate links by a pin 39. Expansion washers 40 are disposed on each of the pins 34, 37 and 39 whose ends are peaned, to hold the links in any position to which they may be pivoted about the pins. It will be apparent that the expansion washers provide a frictional resistance to pivotal movement of the links about their pivots and that the links constitute a reach arm.

A soapstone holder 41 is mounted on the free end of the end link 38 and is provided with the usual set screw 42. The soapstone holder is employed to hold a piece of soapstone which is employed to draw a line on the work stock.

The web 16 of the base member 11 has a downstruck portion forming a pointer 43 extending below an aperture or window 44 of the web 16. The pointer 43 cooperates with the indicia of the protractor 28 to indicate the angular position of the protractor relative to the base members.

The leveling device includes a protractor disk 45 which is rigidly secured to the ends of the base members remote fro-m the protractor 28 by means of welding or any other suitable means. A protractor head 46 is secured to the protractor disk by a screw 47 which extends through a lateral bore of the protractor head into a threaded bore of the protractor disk. It will be seen that the protractor head may be freed for rotation about the screw 47 by loosening the screw and may be locked in any adjusted angular position about the screw by tightening the screw.

The protractor head includes a liquid filled transparent glass tube 48 mounted rigidly on the protractor head. The liquid does not fill the glass completely so that an air bubble 49 is formed in the tube which moves as the protractor head is rotated about its axis to indicate the angular position of the protractor head relative to the base members. The protractor head is also provided with a pointer 50 which cooperates with indicia on the protractor disk 45 to indicate the angular position of the protractor head 46 about its pivotal screw 47.

In use, the layout tool is ordinarily placed on the surface of a work piece so that the base member 10 supports the layout tool on the surface. A reference setting point may then be made on the lower piece by striking the upper end of the center punch with a hammer to form an indentation in the surface. it it is desired to lay off an are on the work surface, the protractor 28 is rotated about its pin 26 after the arm composed of the links has been adjusted to a desired length by pivoting the links about their pivot pins. The expansion washers provide sutticient friction to hold the links in any position to which they areadjusted.

If it is desired to lay ofif a straight line at any desired angle to the base members, the pron-actor is rotated until the pointer 43 is aligned with the line or index on the protractor which indicates this desired angle. The straight line is then drawn by pivoting the links about their pivot points and thus drawing the soapstone held by the holder 41 in a straight line across the work piece. It will be obvious that the link may be of any desired lengths depending on the size of the Work pieces on which the layout tool may be employed.

The layout tool may be used to lay ofi miter lines on pipes or the like. The layout tool is so placed on the pipe that its base member it) rests on the pipe and is adjusted thereon about the longitudinal axis of the pipe until the bubble 49 of the protractor head indicates that the layout tool is level. The protractor 28 is rotated to the desired angle and the soapstone in the holder is moved about the pipe by pivoting the links about their pins to draw a miter line on the pipe. The layout tool may then be moved to any other position on the pipe to lay out another miter line.

Sometimes it is desired to lay the miter line or any other angular line on the pipe at a particular angular orientation about or with respect to the longitudinal axis of the pipe. In that case, the protractor head is rotated to a desired angular position, about its screw 47, with respect to the pro-tractor disk 45 until its pointer is aligned with the line on the disk indicating the desired angle. The layout tool is then positioned on the pipe and rotated about the longitudinal axis of the pipe until the bubble 49 is in the middle of the tube 43. The angular line is then drawn oh as explained above.

It will now be apparent that the leveling device comprising the protractor head 46 and disk 45 may be used to position the layout tool in any desired angular position on a curved or angular surface. It will also be apparent that a layout tool has been provided which requires no adapter to lay out a degree or angle on any surface, and which may be used to lay out curves, circles and miter lines.

Manifestly, the construction as shown and described is capable of some modification and such modification as may be construed to fall within the scope and meaning of the appended claims is also considered to be within the spirit and intent of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A layout tool including a pair of conversely related, channel shaped base members in spaced parallelism, a hub separating said base members at one end, a tube separating said base members at their opposite ends, a protractor mounted on said hub between said base members and adjustable about a first axis defined by said hub, means resisting rotation of said hub, a reach arm flexible in one plane and pivotally mounted on said protractor for movement about a second axis perpendicular to said first axis, said reach arm having a holder on its outer end for holding a marking substance whereby lines may be drawn on a work piece, a leveling device secured to the opposite end of said layout tool for indicating the orientation of said tool about its longitudinal axis and work punching means reciprocable in said tube.

2. A layout tool including a pair of conversely related, channel shaped base members, a hub holding said base members in spaced apart relationship adjacent one end, a tube holding said base members in spaced apart relationship at their opposite ends, a protractor mounted on said hub between said base members and adjustable about a first axis defined by said hub, expansion means resisting rotation of said hub to hold said protractor in adjusted positions, a reach arm pivotally mounted on said protractor for movement about a second axis perpendicular ,to said first axis, said reach arm having a holder on its outer end for holding a marking substance whereby lines may be drawn on a work piece, a leveling device secured to the opposite end of said layout tool for indicating the orientation of said tool about its longitudinal axis, said leveling device including a protractor disk at the opposite end of said tool secured to said base members and lying in a plane parallel to said first axis, a protractor head rotatably mounted on said protractor disk for rotation about a third axis disposed parallel to and between said longitudinal axes of said base members and a metal punch reciprocable in said tube.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 742,077 Sovelius Oct. 20, 1903 1,566,509 Schwanz Dec. 22, 1925 2,095,479 Ridgeway Oct. 12, 1937 2,209,628 Munson July 30, 1940 2,569,019 Ridgeway Sept. 25, 1951 2,636,273 Morris Apr. 28, 1953 

